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No. 517,944. Patented Apr. 10 1894.

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PUNCH AND FARE REGISTEE No. 517,944. Patented Apr 10, 1894.

fig 25 Ill/0117277 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MELTON BLACK, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

PUNC H AND FARE-REGISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 517,944, dated April 10, 1894.

Application filed March 22, 1893. Serial No. 467.124. (No model.) Patented in England June 9, 1337, No. 8,273, and Apn'l17, 1839, No. 6,551.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN MELTON BLACK, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Checking Fares and for Similar Purposes, (for part of which improvements I have obtained patents in Great Britain, No. 8,273, dated June 9, 1887, and No. 6,551, dated April 17, 1889,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus of the kind used by the conductors of public vehicles for checking the fares received from the passengers; or used by the persons employed in the collection of the fares or-tolls of steam boats, ferries, piers or the like; or of admission-money to places of recreation or amusement, and especially to that class of such apparatus designed to punch the tickets and to retain the punched-out pieces.

The object of my invention is to simplify the construction and increase the efficiency of such apparatus and it comprises the improvements hereinafter'described.

In the accompanying draw1ngs,-Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved checking apparatus and of a plate for supporting or carrying the same. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; and, Fig. 3 is a plan. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the apparatus detached from the carrying plate and with some of the parts removed in order to reveal the internal mechanism; and, Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are respectively sections on the lines 55, 6-6 and 77 of Fig. 4 but with the parts removed from the latter Fig. 4 replaced. Fig. 8 is an elevation of the lower part of Fig. tillustrating the operation of one part of the apparatus; Fig. 9. an elevation, and Fig. 10. an end View of the slide bar; Fig. 11. an elevation, and Fig. 12. an edge view of the toothed bar; Fig. 13, the spring arm in elevation; Fig. 14.. an elevation, and Fig. 15.a plan of the covering plate; Fig. 16. a front elevation, Fig. 17. a plan; Fig. 18. a rear elevati0n,and Fig..19. an end elevation of a part to which is attached the box for receiving the punched out pieces; Fig. 20. an elevation, and Fig. 21. a section of the hinge plate. Fig.22isaside elevation of the counting mechanism which I use in my apparatus;

and, Fig. 23 is a front elevation of the same with the outer casing removed. Fig. 24 is a section on the line 24-24., Fig. 23,1ookingin the direction of the arrow lbut with the outer casing replaced; and, Fig. 25 is a section on the line 25-25, Fig. 23, looking in the direction of the arrow 2 also with the outer casing replaced. Fig. 26 is an under side View of the counting mechanism with the outer casing removed; and, Fig. 27 is a View of part of the mechanism looking in the direction of the arrow 3,Fig.24. Fig. 28is a view of part of the mechanism looking in the direction of the arrow 4:, Fig. 24. Figs. 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33 are views illustrating the operation of the counting mechanism. Figs. 22 to 33 are drawn to a larger scale than the other figures of the drawings.

The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the figures.

a is the base or foundation plate upon which the various parts of my apparatus are mounted, and a is part of a box or casing attached to the same, the said apparatus being advantageously supported or carried on a plate a slung bya strap attached to pins of, a on the said plate and embracing the body of the con ductor or other person using the apparatus, the apparatus being secured to the said plate a by the side edges of the base plate a eugaging with guide strips a on the plate a 1) is a head in which the punch slides, and c is the platform or anvil upon which the tickets are placed to be punched, the said platform being at a slight distance below the head 1) in order to allow of the introduction of the ticket beneath the punch.

d is the punch proper which slides in a slotted aperture in the head I) and is carried by a bard sliding in suitable guides, the said plate with the punch being shown in elevation and in plan in Figs. 9 and 10 respectively. lhe lower end of the bar 01' has bearing against it a spring 01 which rests upon a suitable support d secured to the plate a, the said spring serving to normally hold the punch above the level of the platform a, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5.

Motion isimparted to the punch by means of a lever e pivoted at e and provided witha projecting piece e forming an abutment upon which the thumb is pressed to operate the ap paratus. This lever e, which is covered by a plate a Figs. 1 and 5, secured to the plate a, is connected by a linkf to a bar g (shown detached in front and side elevation respectively in Figs. 11 and 12) sliding in guides g g the upper end of the said bar being jointed at g to one end of alever 9 the other end of which is pivoted to the plate a at g This lever g bears upon a lug or projection g upon the plate 01' in such a manner that when the lever e is depressed the lever will draw the plate cl with the punch downward against the pressure of the spring d the said spring returning the said lever and the punch to their normal positions when the lever c is released.

6 e are stops for limiting the upward and downward movements respectively of the le- Ver 6.

his a hell or gong which is sounded each time the punch is operated, the said gong being carried upon the base-plate a, as shown most clearlyin Fig. 6 and as indicated by the dotted circle in Fig. 4c, and h is the hammer by means of which the said gong is struck. This hammer is pivoted to the plate a by a pin or screw 72, upon which is also pivotally mounted a tappet 71.3 against which a projection 7L4 upon the bar 9 is designed to impinge. This tappet is also constructed to bear against a pin it on the hammer 7t in such a manner that when, as the bar 9 is moving downward, the projection it strikes the tappet the hammer will be moved back and then released to strike the bell while when the bar g is moved in the reverse direction or upward the said tappet only will move, the hammer remaining stationary.

h is a spring which acts upon the tappet to return it to its normal position after it has been acted upon by the projection h, and k is a spring which, after the hammer has-been pushed back and the tappet released from the projection 7%, causes the hammer to strike the bell.

71 is the registering or counting mechanism which indicates the number of times that the apparatus has been operated, that is to say, the number of tickets that have been punched, the said numbering apparatus (the construction of which is hereinafter described) being operated from the bar g through the medium of the projection or lug t" thereon.

In order to insure that when the lever e is moved to punch a ticket it shall be moved far enough to cause the proper movement of the counting mechanism, I provide means for preventing the said lever c, after it has commenced to move, from returning to its normal position until it has been moved the required distance; such means are shown in Figs. 4 and 8 and comprise a pivoted double detentj having two horns or projectionsyflfi, designed to engage with teeth on the bar 9 and to be moved by the contact therewith of a projection j upon the said bar g. The rear end of the detentj is acted upon by a springarm j which serves to retain the detent 1n either of two positions in which it may be placed.

3' j are the teeth upon the bar g, which teeth are arranged on each side of the projection 7' and with which the projectionsy' j of the detent are designed to engage. The operation of this detent is as follows:-Assume the same to be in the position shown in Fig. t with the projection j in the engagement with the lowermost tooth j in the bar g: it now the lever e is depressed only a sullicient distance to bring, say, the next tooth j into engagement with the projection j the said lever cannot be returned until the bar 9 has been pulled down sufliciently far to cause the projection 7' to engage with the projection 3 and thereby move the detent to the position shown in Fig. 8 to draw the said projection out of the engagement with the teeth 7'. With the detent in the position shown in Fig. 8 it is obvious that when the lever e has been allowed to rise a short distance under the action of the spring (Z it cannot be pulled down, as the engagement of the projection j with the teeth would prevent this: it is therefore necessary that before any farther downward movement can take place the lever e must move to the upper end of the stroke to return the detent to the position shown in Fig. 4.

To prevent the apparatus from being operated to the disadvantage of the conductor, that is to say, to hinder any evil disposed person from operating the lever eand thus moving the counting mechanism after the conductor has handed in the apparatus, together with his takings, I provide a spring-arm 7c pivoted to the plate a at and designed when the apparatus is in use to occupy the position indicated by the full lines in Fig. at, that is to say, in a position in which its upper end 70 will be embraced by a notch 7t in the lever g when the lever e is pulled down. VVhen, however, the said arm 70 is placed in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4 its end k is designed to occupy a position beneath a projection 70 on the lever so that the latter cannot be moved by the lever B. This arm 7c is shown detached in side elevation in Fig. 13, and is provided with a pin 70 carried by a spring-arm it and also with a projecting pin or lug 713 which extends through a slot in the plate aas indicated most clearly in Fig. '7, a notch or recess being made in the plate CL adjacent to the lug 70 to permit, say, the finger nail to be pressed against the said lug to move the lever from the position shown in full lines to the position shown in dotted lines.

Z, Fig. 6, is a plate which serves to cover some of the mechanism hereinbefore described, the said plate, which is shown detached in elevation and plan in Figs 14 and 15 respectively, being screwed onto the plate ct. The said plate Z has a lug l into which a screw passed through the plate a is intro IlO duced and a hole Z through which a screw can be passed into a lug Z upon the plate 01,, as shown in Fig. 4., the said lugs serving as distance-pieces between the plate Z and the platea. In the plate Z is also formed a hole Z the position of which corresponds with the pin 76 when the arm 7c is in the dotted position in Fig. 4:, that is to say, when the said lever is placed with its end beneath the projection k of the lever g When the apparatus is in use the pin 75 simply bears against the back of the plate Z: when, however the conductor desires to lock or prevent any movement of the lever 6 he moves the lug k in the slot through which it passes so that the end of the lever 70 is moved beneath the projection 70 of the lever g at the same time the pin 70 springs into the hole Z and so prevents the said arm from being returned to its normal position until the apparatus is opened by a duly authorized person.

an is the other part of the box or casing 01. of the apparatus to which the box n for receiving the punched-out pieces of the tickets is attached, the said box having an open top located beneath the punching platform, as shown in Fig. 5. This part m, which is shown in Figs. 16, 17, 18, and 19 (Fig. 16 being a front elevation, Fig. 17 a plan, Fig. 18 a rear.

elevation, and Fig. 19 an end elevation looking in the direction of the arrow Fig. 17) slides beneath the guides or flanges m, m of the part a, of the casing attached to the plate a, as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 5, and 6 and is locked in position by means of a spring-catch m fixedto the casing a and adapted at its free end to engage in a hole m in the side of the box n, as shown most clearly in Fig. 6. With this arrangement it will be understood that, when the part m of the casing is slid into place so that the spring catch m engages with the hole m the said part m cannot be again removed to enable the punched-out pieces of tickets in the box it to be obtained until the catch m is disengaged from the said hole. To disengage the said spring-catch m from the hole m it is necessary to insert a pin or wire through an opening in the plate m to press against the said spring-catch and push it backward. To enable the catch an to be thus disengaged but that if effected by any unauthorized person it will be detected I provide the following arrangement. Upon the inner surface of the plate m I hinge the plate 0. (which is shown detached in elevation in Fig. 20 and in section on the line 2121 of Fig. 20 in Fig. 21) in which isa hole 0' through which the pin for disengaging the catch m is passed. In the face of the plate 0 I place a rotatable disk 0 in which is formed a hole 0 adapted when the spring-catch m is to be pushed back to be placed in coincidence with the hole 0' but at other times to occupy a position away from the said hole 0' so that the latter is closed by the solid part of the disk. The said disk 0 can be readily turned by the pin which is to be introduced through the holes 0 0' to, push back the catch m As the plate 0 with its disk 0 1s arranged on the inside of the plate m it is obviously necessary to form in the said plate on a curved slot 0 to allow the pin to move aroundwith the disk. In practice a piece of paper is arranged between the plate m and the plate 0 before the apparatus is closed up and handed out to the conductor so that in order to open the apparatus it is necessary first of all to pierce the paper to introduce the pin into the hole 0 and then as the disk 0 is turned, the portion of the paper covering the slot 0 is torn, thereby indicating that the apparatus has been opened or tampered with. A detent pawl 0 upon one edge of the plate 0 engages with a notch in the edge of the disk 0 to prevent the said disk accidentally moving when in the position shown in Figs. 16 and 20.

The hinged plate 0 is held down with the paper between it and the plate m by means of the slide 19, Figs. 16 to 19, the said slide after the hinged plate has been closed against the plate m being pushed up to the position shown in Fig. 19 to engage behind the back of the said plate 0 and when so pushed up its lower end bears against the bottom of the casing Ct when the plate m is placed in position therein.

13 is a cover or shield which is pivoted on the outside of the plate a and serves to normally cover the slot 0 to prevent the paper from being inadvertently torn.

The counting mechanism t' shown in Figs.

22 to 33 is constructed and operates as follows:-Upon a shaft 1 carried in brackets g, g on a plate g designed to be secured to the base-plate a are mounted, say, four counting disks 1", 7'', r 1' for units, tens, hundreds, and thousands respectively, each of which disks has marked upon its periphery the nine digits and a naught so that the said disks are capable of registering the number 9999. Formed upon or attached to the disks 1*, r, 1 r are ratchet wheels 8, s, 8 s respectively through the medium of which the said disks are operated.

t is a slide working in the bracket (1 the said slide having in it an aperture f, with which the projection t" of the bar g is designed to engage in such a manner that when movement is imparted to the said bar 9 movement wiil be imparted to the slide If.

U is a frame consisting of two side pieces u, 20' and of a connecting bar 10 the said frame being pivoted upon the shaft g which passes through its side-pieces, as shown most clearly in Fig. 25. This frame 11, is oscillated upon the shaft g by means of a tongue 11 formed on the end of a screw Q) fixed in the slide 25, the said tongue '0 projecting through 'a slot '0 (see Fig. 22.) in the bracket g into a notch a see Fig. 25. formed in one of the end pieces u of the frame u.

w, w (Fig. 26) are springs connected to the brackets g, g and with their free ends ontering grooves w',w'in the end pieces u, u,

as shown in Fig. 23 and 26 and in dotted lines in Fig. 25, the said springs to, w tending to lift the frame to to its highest position, which position is indicated clearlyin Fig. 25. WVith this arrangement it will be understood that when the slide t is moved downward owing to its engagement with the bar g, the frame it will be oscillated upon the shaft g by reason of the engagement of the tongue 1) carried by the slide 25 with the notch u in the frame to. Upon a shaft or spindle 00 carried by the side-pieces u, to of the frame to is hinged a quadruple pawl consisting of a plate w having upon it a series of graduated teeth 1 y, 3 y designed to engage with the ratchet-Wheels s, 8, s 3 of the disks r, r, r m respectively, the said plate :20 being acted upon by a spring 00 to press the said teeth on the plate toward the ratchet-wheels. In each of the ratchet-wheels s, s, s is formed a notch 11 into which the teeth 1 y, 3 can enter.

5, z are detent pawls engaging with the ratchet-wheels s, s, .9 s and serving to prevent the disks from being moved in the wrong direction and z are springs bearing on said pawls.

z is a casing which is advantageously placed over the registering mechanism and has an opening through which the numbers on the disks 7', 0", r 7 are exhibited.

The operation of this numbering mechanism is as follows:-Assume all the disks 0*, 1', W, T to be placed with their respective zeros or naughts in line behind the opening .2 in the casing z and the tooth 2 which engages with the ratchet-wheel s resting upon the periphery of the said wheel, as shown in Figs. 2a and 25, while the other teeth g, 3 which are respectively shorter than the tooth y, are away from the peripheries of their respective ratchet-wheels, as shown in Figs. 24:, 25, 29, 30, and 31: if new the slide '6 is moved down, the frame 7.6 will be caused to oscillate a distance sufficient to cause the tooth y to rotate the ratchet-wheel s a distance of one tooth while on the upward movement of the said slide the frame returns under the action of the springs 20, to so that the tooth y is ready to engage with another tooth of the ratchet-wheel s. The same movements take place each time the slide 2? is moved for nine times in succession except that during the backward movement of the plate or after the ninth movement of the disk 0', the tooth y drops into the notch y of the disks, as shown in Fig. 32. The result of this is that the tooth 3 is caused to engage with the teeth of the ratchetwheels of the tens disk r, as shown in Fig. 33,so that on thenext or tenth downward movement of the slide tthe disks 1', T will be simultaneously operated. On the return or u pward movement of the slide 15 the tooth y again moves out of the notch 31 and rides onto the periphery of the wheel 8 and so continues until the said notch y again allows the disk 0'' to be moved, and so on. When the disks 7', r register 99 and the frame a is oscillating backward the teeth 314 simultaneously drop into the notches 11 1 of the disks 5, s respectively, so that the tooth 1 is allowed to engage with the ratchet-Wheel 820E the .hundreds disk T and when 999 is registered the three teeth y, 'y', 1 simultaneously fall into the notches g 3123 of the disks 8, s, 5- respectively so that the tooth 1 is allowed to engage with the ratchet-wheel s of the thousands disk 1 The great advantage of the registering mechanism hereinbefore described is that each of the disks can be rotated independently of the others so that all the disks may with very little trouble be set to zero.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is- 1. In combination with the ticket punch, and with the thumb-operated lever linked to a slide for operating the punch, of a pivoted arm or catch provided with a spring pin within the casing and operating when moved from its normal position to prevent the punch from being operated, until the apparatus is opened to effect a disengagement of these parts, all substantially as described.

2. In apparatus for checking fares and for similar purpose, the combination with the perforating punch and a spring catch, of a box to receive the punched out pieces, a spring catch normally holding the same in place, and a hinged plate serving to hold between the box and the surface to which it is attached a piece of paper which must be torn before the spring catch can be disengaged to allow the removal of the box, all substantially as shown and described.

3. In combination with' the perforating pnnoh,and its described operating lever and slide bar, counting disks and mechanism substantially as described, movable by the agency of said lever by means of the slide oscillating frame, a plate having the series of teeth, ratchet wheels engaging therewith and pro vided with notches to receive one or more of the teeth when two or more of the disks are simultaneously moved, all substantially as described.

JOHN MELTON BLACK.

Witnesses:

JOHN E. BOUSFIELD, Of the firm of G. F. Redfern dc 00., 4 South Street, Finsbury, London, Patent Agents.

G. F. TYSON. 

